Amway sponsors U.S. pavilion at 2010 World Expo in Shanghai

AP PhotoThe United States Pavilion is sponsored in part by Amway at the World Expo in China, which opens today.ADA TOWNSHIP -- When doors opened today on the 2010 World Expo, the Shanghai crowd visiting the U.S. pavilion could see a video word from Amway Corp.

But it won't be hawking Amway products. Visitors to the eagle-wing shaped pavilion instead will see "reputation and pride-builder" messages, said Dana Boals, vice president of global Amway brands. "We love West Michigan to have a presence there."

"This is not an advertisement," she said. "The State Department approved all the pieces that go into the USA pavilion. It is non-commercial."

Akin to the World's Fairs of yore, the Shanghai shindig expects to be the biggest one of the bunch. It started this weekend and runs through the summer until a big finale for the show ending Oct. 31. The Expo expects to draw 70 million people, most from China.

Amway is one of 47 "Pavilion Partners," ranging from Doublemint gum to Deloitte, who paid an undisclosed amount less than $3 million to buy a sponsorship. Only one company is in at the "Premium Partner" level of $3 million to $4.9 million: Proctor & Gamble. But a handful of U.S. companies bought the top-shelf "Global Partners" spot by paying more than $5 million in cash or in kind: Chevron, Citi, GE, Johnson&Johnson and PepsiCo.

Together, the sponsors underwrote construction of the $61 million U.S. pavilion.

Amway's affiliates in China just brought the idea of an Expo sponsorship to the company in January, Boals said.

"It's been very, very stimulating, fast-moving, and we made the deadlines; our brand will be presented," Boals said. She plans to visit the Expo this summer, once she catches her breath.

"China is Amway's largest market," she said. "We wanted to show our global story."

The U.S. theme is "Rising to the Challenge," while the overall Expo theme is "Better City, Better Life."

For those familiar with Shanghai, the Expo grounds are on the banks of the Huangpu River, between the Nanpu and Lupu bridges. Sustainable practices are the rule of the day: the U.S. pavilion has a rooftop vegetable garden, building-cooling waterfalls of recycled water, and green spaces, all focused on an urban habitat.

"It's a broader sustainability in all that you do," Boals said. "The sustainability theme has an interest to us as a brand, because we have always thought about sustainability in our business practices."

Although visitors won't be exposed to heavy sales pitches and samples by the dozen, they will see the U.S. brands throughout the walk through the U.S. pavilion.

"One of the fascinating things with sponsorship is that even when people are standing outside, waiting to go into the pavilion, you will have a video outside, to help them see the brand," Boals said "It comes at you when you're outside, and it comes at you from the inside."

Although Amway and other sponsors are delivering their message to the masses, companies are not staffing the exhibit.